Laurie Strode Might Have More To Worry About Than Michael Myers In Halloween Ends
David Gordon Green's "Halloween" — not to be confused with "Halloween," "Halloween," or Halloween — separated itself from all of the previous "Halloween" sequels, rebooting the franchise with only the 1978 film retained as canon. This ignore-the-sequels gambit had, incidentally, also been played by "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later" in 1998, which ignored the events of "Halloween III: Season of the Witch," "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers," "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers," and "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers." David Gordon Green's 2018 version of "Halloween" was, essentially, a new crack at "Halloween II." The 2021 film "Halloween Kills" was a sequel to the 2018 film, making "Halloween" the very first "Halloween II" to get its very own "Halloween II." Coming on October 14, 2022, is "Halloween Ends," the thirteenth film in the franchise.
The conceit of Green's "Halloween" was that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle) were no longer siblings (as established in the 1981 "Halloween II") and that Myers, the semi-supernatural, unstoppable killing machine, was unconcerned with Laurie's fate. Over the course of "Halloween Kills," however, Laurie's obsession with killing Michael Myers — some 40 years after their first encounter — "linked them up" again, and now each is expressly concerned with the fate of the other.
"Halloween Ends," then, will feature a final, meaningful conflagration between the two. However, Laurie — assuming Michael is no longer a threat — will be blindsided by him this time. And, as Curtis hinted at in an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Laurie will be distracted by (in her words) "this other character."
Given some previous comments from David Gordon Green, that may be a tantalizing hint.
Choose your fighter
In the interview, Curtis laid out the premise of "Halloween Ends" succinctly. To catch up: Laurie was attacked and nearly killed by Michael Myers when she was 17, way back in 1978. Myers was apprehended and spent his life in a mental institution. 40 years later, Myers escaped, put on the same creepy mask he wore as a young man, and began killing again. Laurie had become a survivalist during those 40 years, alienating her family with her collection of guns and penchant for paranoia. At the end of "Halloween" (2018) it looked like Michael was dead, but he fled danger at the beginning of "Halloween Kills" to begin his rampage afresh. Despite a gathering mob, hellbent on killing him, Michael escaped death once again.
"Halloween Ends" will begin four years later, when Laurie has managed to pull her life together. Laurie, now more content, is ill-prepared to face off against Michael Myers. As Curtis explained:
"Laurie doesn't see Michael coming. And that's a very different result. So the fight with Michael is much more violent, unexpected, and it has to be like a street brawl. This movie ... this other character comes in that she's concerned about, but she's not thinking about Michael. And then Michael comes back. And so the fight was an unexpected fight."
"This other character" is likely Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a new character in "Halloween" lore who is accused of killing a young boy he was babysitting. The babysitter murder will trigger Laurie's trauma, and Laurie will no doubt become focused on him.
If the name "Cunningham" is familiar to horror obsessives, there's a reason for that, and it's not just because a man named Sean Cunningham produced the "Friday the 13th" movies.
Anyone remember 1983's "Christine?"
Body by Plymouth, soul by Satan
Based on a book by Stephen King, John Carpenter's 1983 film "Christine" is about a candy-apple red 1958 Plymouth Fury that is somehow mysteriously alive. In her movie, set in the present, she becomes psychically linked to a young man named Arnie (Keith Gordon) who has bought the car and becomes obsessed with it. Due to an ineffable bond between teen and car, Arnie begins metamorphosing into a 1950s greaser, and Christine mysteriously develops the ability to repair her own damage, and drive over people who threaten — or who flirt with — Arnie. By the climax of the story, Arnie is more or less demonically possessed. "Christine" is a horror story for anyone who has ever obsessed intensely about a car, or knows someone who has.
Arnie's last name is Cunningham.
While one may be tempted to call this a mere coincidence, /Film reported back in November on something Green had said to Empire. Green assured readers that "Halloween Ends" was a general tribute to John Carpenter, and not just a handful of tossed-in references to other Carpenter movies:
"I sent Carpenter the new draft of 'Halloween Ends' the other night, and I said, 'If it feels too "Christine," let me know.' ... For 'Halloween Ends,' it's just a love of Carpenter. It's more than just, 'Hey, here's a character and a community that you've created.' It's, 'Here's an appreciation of your legendary body of work.'"
Curtis said that Laurie is too distracted by Corey Cunningham to worry about Michael Myers. Did she stumble into a world where Arnie had a son named Corey? Will she be facing off — in a "Titane" sort of way — Christine's offspring?
For now, we can only speculate.